Family: Percidae, Perches and Darters view all from this family

Description 2 1/2" (6.1 cm). Body thicker toward head. Yellowish brown above with 4 narrow dark saddles, first anterior to dorsal fin. Paler yellow to whitish below. Dark blotching on sides. Head small, snout curved downward. Fins large and clear with dark spots. Breeding male has blue throat.

Endangered Status The Amber Darter is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered throughout its range in Georgia and Tennessee. This small fish is known to live in a 33.5 mile stretch of the Conasauga River from Polk County, Tennessee, to Murray County, Georgia. It was also once found in Shoal Creek in Cherokee County, Georgia, but after the construction of a reservoir it was apparently wiped out there. The main threat to this species is the degradation of its habitat by reservoir construction on the Conasauga.

Habitat Clean gravel riffles and shoals in clear streams.

Range Conasauga River, southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia.